Bin strike to affect up to 10,000 Meath households

A bin strike which will affect up to 10,000 Meath households is looming as Bord na Mona (BNM) workers serve strike notice on the company.

Bord na Móna Recycling workers have rejected a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) proposal aimed at resolving a protracted privatisation dispute.

The company's Navan depot (formerly Midland Waste) is among the company's largest recycling facilities.

SIPTU members employed at Bord na Móna Recycling have rejected the WRC's proposals by 61per cent to 39 per cent.

SIPTU Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane said: “The strike committee met last night and unanimously agreed to reinstate the notice of strike and industrial action. Notice has been served on the company today, and our members are determined to see this through.

The planned action will begin with a one-day strike on Thursday, 19th June, escalating to two days the following week and three days the week after. Our members don’t want to be in this position but feel they have no choice.”

The primary reason for rejecting the WRC proposal was the company’s failure to agree to a Registered Employment Agreement (REA), which would guarantee worker protections for terms and conditions in the event of a sale.

He added: “The fire sale of Bord na Móna Recycling is bad for workers, customers, and the environment. It makes no economic or environmental sense. The Department has initiated a consultation on transitioning to single-tender provision per local authority area, so why privatise the last remaining publicly owned domestic waste provider?”

A spokesperson for Bord na Móna Recycling said the company had received confirmation of notice of industrial action by SIPTU following the rejection of the proposals presented by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

"This is extremely disappointing as our agreed industrial relations (IR) procedures with SIPTU provide that the next stage is a referral of the matter to the Labour Court.

"If the action proceeds, we will endeavour to keep any disruption to waste collection services to a minimum, with alternative collections to be scheduled for impacted customers and will keep customer service channels available as usual to support customers.

"We remain committed to reaching a resolution and urge SIPTU to fully engage with our agreed IR procedures, setting aside this action to allow the matter to be referred to The Labour Court," he said.